Have you ever noticed just how much trouble Jesus caused? Consider Paul. He was doing very well until he was enlisted by the Nazarene. I think I can hear some of his former friends, saying, “That guy Saul really blew it! He was one of the most privileged men in Israel till he went astray following that Jesus fellow. What good did it do him? Kicked out of Synagogues, whipped and beaten, stoned and left for dead! All he got was trouble.”

Jesus, Himself, was always surrounded by trouble. Even at His birth, there was trouble. Remember how the Wise Men came looking for the newborn King and all Jerusalem was ‘troubled’ (Matt 2:3). Now, why in the name of thunder would the birth of a baby trouble an entire city? The new King had arrived but rather than being excited or filled with rejoicing--- the citizens of Jerusalem were troubled. What a strange brew---- an entire city troubled by a baby!

But, why were they troubled? Maybe they were troubled because they knew that Herod wouldn’t take this news well …and ‘if the King ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!’ On the other hand, maybe they really understood that this baby was their rightful King…a King who demanded allegiance and loyalty. A King who expected all! Maybe they felt they would be better off with Herod and the Romans. Whoever he was, this baby was trouble!

Jesus always causes trouble! He leads us to life by means of death….that’s troubling, especially when we are so committed to our own plans, goals and ambitions.

Christ speaks to us in grace, looks at us in grace, thinks of us in grace and promises us gracious rest, but this grace comes wrapped in a cross that brings us to an end of our noble efforts to impress God …..that’s troubling.

What a strange Saviour He really is! He comes promising peace but at the same time brings a sword (Matthew 10:34). Swords speak of trouble!

But those ancient Wise Men saw nothing in Him to trouble them. They wanted to worship Him. They were prepared to take Him for who He was…the King and Sovereign of their existence.

We will either be troubled by Him or we will worship Him. But, even when we worship Him, we will not be free from trouble. Yet, somehow, in trouble, we learn that even in the midst of that which seems wrong, He who was born in Bethlehem is really in charge. In the darkness of pain, we can come to a place where we can thank God for the grace of trouble! The truth is, our only hope is to be troubled by Jesus. We need Christ to trouble us. We need to be troubled about our self-righteousness and self-sufficiency in order that we can trust in Christ’s righteousness and sufficiency alone.

What a comforting truth to know that the Lord is the God of Salvation. He brings salvation. With Him is salvation. But above all else, He Himself is our salvation. The gospel truth is that salvation is not a something but a someone (Exodus 15:2; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 38:22).

Simeon confirmed this. Do you remember him? Just after the birth of Christ, we find Simeon dwelling in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit was upon him. Indeed, the Holy Spirit had revealed unto him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. One day, as he came, by the Spirit, into the Temple, Mary and Joseph were bringing the child Jesus in to fulfill the custom of the law. They met! Simeon instantly took the baby up in his arms, and blessed God, saying, ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to Thy word for my eyes have seen Thy salvation.’ Salvation was declared by Simeon to be a person … …and the person was Jesus (see Luke 2:25-29).

We don’t know where Simeon was born. We don’t know who his parents were. We don’t know what Simeon did for a living. We don’t know what he looked like. We don’t know if Simeon was rich or poor. We don’t know what other people thought of him. But this we do know, Simeon had lived in the expectancy of seeing the Lord’s Messiah. And he saw Him when he held the baby Jesus.

Simeon held Jesus in his arms and recognized what millions have come to know and that is, Jesus is God’s salvation. Jesus is salvation because He is fully God and fully man. He is, therefore, the one who is uniquely equipped to save. Jesus is the revelation of the One True and Living God. All that we may know about God has been spoken and demonstrated in Christ. Christ is the truth. He is the truth about God. He is the truth about man. He is the truth about the past. All God’s plans and purposes were bound up in Him. He is the truth about the future. His death and resurrection were end time events. They point to the Last Judgment and our resurrection. It is no wonder then that we are to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Furthermore, Jesus was uniquely equipped to save because He was sinless. He, Himself, is our Salvation.

Imagine the best person that you’ve ever met or known. Imagine if they offered to pay for your sins. We’d admire them for their unusual offer. But there’s just one problem …. God would not accept their proposal. Why not? Because that truly amazing person, with the excellent offer, is a sinner.

We are all sinners. None of us are in a position to act as a substitute for someone else’s sin.

Jesus, on the other hand, was sinless. He was, therefore, able to become the substitute for His people. And, because He is the infinite God, He is able to pay the penalty for the sin for us. That’s why, He is our Salvation! 'When Simeon held Jesus in his arms and said, “… my eyes have seen your salvation,” he was saying, “Here is the one, the only one. Here is the One who saves to the uttermost. Here is the one who saves when no one else can.”

We talk about God’s plan of salvation, but in truth, Jesus is God’s man of salvation. Redemption is in Him (Romans 3:24). Only through His doing, dying and rising again is there to be discovered the free and gracious gift of eternal life.